Art Collection

Public School Art

In this mural, Bearden’s second school commission, he explored daily school life and community, themes more in keeping with his body of work. The mural is a focal point of the building, the first thing people see when they walk into school. For this project, Bearden applied his mastery of collage to the mosaic medium. He included typical neighborhood imagery but he also referenced the nearby stables maintained by the Federation of Black Cowboys. Due to the mural’s expansive size, the work feels sparser than some of Bearden’s tightly woven, textured pieces.